Main Stories
o English-Language Latino Network Si TV Raises $60 Million
o British Telecom Launches Own Digital Rights Management, Rich Media Service
o Citing Economics, Association for Independent Music to Disband After 32 Years
o U.K. Government Agency Recommends Deadline for Switchover to Digital TV
o Apple Loses Bid to Move Trademark Suit With Beatles' Record Label to U.S.
o Midway Games Acquires "The Suffering" Developer Surreal for $4.2 Million
o U.K. Privacy Group Condemns New Google Email Service As Illegal
o Atari Launches Games on Demand Monthly Subscription Service

o Briefly Noted: Microsoft Xbox - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Kazaa/eDonkey - DDoS attacks, University of Illinois at Springfield - online degrees, Overture Services, Art Institute of San Francisco - game degree scholarships, SeaChange International, Loudeye - Synergy Media Group, THQ - Nickelodeon, Ubisoft - "Myst IV Revelation," Conspiracy Entertainment, Movielink, Sony QRIO robot - Tokyo Philharmonic conductor

Los Angeles -- Si TV, the recently launched English-language, Latino-themed TV network, announced that it has raised $60 million in new funding from investors including satellite TV operator EchoStar Communications and Time Warner. Other investors participating included Syndicated Communications Ventures, Columbia Capital, Rho Ventures, DND Capital Partners, Llano Partners and company co-founder Barshop Ventures. Launched in February, Si TV targets a demographic of 18-34 year-old 2nd and 3rd generation U.S. Latinos. The network currently reaches 7 million homes through affiliate agreements with EchoStar, Time Warner Cable, Comcast and Cox. The company said that its charter advertisers include Wal-Mart, Sears, General Motors, the U.S. Army, EarthLink, Conair and Sony Music.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040405/lam089_1.html 
http://www.sitv.com
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o British Telecom Launches Own Digital Rights Management, Rich Media Service

London -- U.K. phone and Internet service provider British Telecom (BT) announced on Tuesday a new Rich Media platform that will allow businesses to distribute multimedia content protected by BT's new proprietary digital rights management technology. The service is the company's first foray into digital rights management, a field currently dominated by competitors including Microsoft, RealNetworks, Apple and Sony. BT partnered with RealNetworks on the new platform, but will only offer that company's publishing and content management tools to customers. "The digital rights element is in no way intended to restrict distribution -- in fact, quite the opposite. The software is downloaded at no extra charge, and encourages users to share digital files with flexible billing options, including those linked to the end user's BT account," said BT Rich media CEO Andy Brown. BT said that among the first customers for the service will be TWI Interactive, which plans to stream both its back catalog of content and future global sporting events.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?I236324F7
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o Citing Economics, Association for Independent Music to Disband After 32 Years

Rocky River, Ohio -- The Association for Independent Music (AFIM), an organization started in 1972 to represent the independent music industry's retailers, record labels and artists, announced on Tuesday that its board of directors has voted to dissolve the organization, effective April 15. Current members will be offered membership in the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM), which said it launched a new Independent Music Issue Forum that will focus on indie-centric issues and initiatives. "AFIM has been struggling with dire economic circumstances for a number of years and is simply no longer able to maintain the level of services and benefits our members deserve," said board chairman Clay Pasternack. "After working with NARM on a joint Annual Convention for the last two years, we felt the best outcome would be to work with NARM to provide a logical migration path for our members, as well as to help NARM enhance its own focus on the independent music sector."
http://www.afim.org 
http://www.narm.com
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o U.K. Government Agency Recommends Deadline for Switchover to Digital TV

London -- In a report published earlier this week, the U.K. communications watchdog (Ofcom) said the government must stop dragging its heels and set a date for switching the nation's TVs from analog transmission to digital. The regulatory agency said an official timetable would significantly extend digital penetration in the country and help to ensure that the U.K. has made the move to digital by the end of 2010. In its Driving Digital Switchover report, which contained 23 recommendations, Ofcom warned the government that many TV viewers and broadcasters might need some sort of financial incentive to make the switch, which it said should by phased in region by region to prevent widespread TV blackouts. Since receiving the report, however, the government has said that it has no intention of subsidizing the replacement of nearly 40 million analogue TVs.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?O671233F7
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o Apple Loses Bid to Move Trademark Suit With Beatles' Record Label to U.S. London -- Apple Computer has been denied a motion in the London High Court to move a trademark lawsuit brought against the company by the Beatles' record label, Apple Corps, from the U.K. to the U.S., Reuters reported. The record label sued the computer maker for violation of a 1991 agreement where Apple Computer agreed not to use the name in association with the music industry -- an agreement that Apple Corps said the company has broken with the launch of its iTunes Music Store in the U.K.
http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/040406/media_music_apple_1.html
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o Midway Games Acquires "The Suffering" Developer Surreal for $4.2 Million

Chicago -- Video game developer Midway Games announced on Tuesday that it has acquired Seattle-based developer Surreal Software, which created its recently released "The Suffering" title, in a stock transaction valued at about $4.2 million. Surreal is also responsible for titles including the "Drakan" franchise and "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring." Chicago-based Midway said the acquisition will strengthen its internal development team. "The positive market reception to 'The Suffering' illustrates our ability to successfully develop and release entirely new properties that resonate strongly with the growing audience of sophisticated, mature gamers," said Midway president and CEO David F. Zucker.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040406/65203_1.html
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o U.K. Privacy Group Condemns New Google Email Service As Illegal

London -- Privacy International, a global citizens group with offices in the U.S. and the U.K., this week voiced concerns about a new Google email service called "Gmail" that stores messages in a place where PC users are unable to delete them. Although the service comes with more than 100 times the free storage capacity offered by Yahoo Mail and MSN Hotmail, Gmail guarantees far less privacy; Google has admitted in its privacy and terms of use sections that it would employ "cookies" and scan users' email accounts in a bid to fine tune advertising. In a statement released earlier this week, Privacy International, which has filed an official complaint with U.K. authorities, claims the service is illegal. "Consumers should be aware that there's a vast violation of European law occurring here," said Privacy International Director Simon Davies.
http://www.privacyinternational.org
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o Atari Launches Games on Demand Monthly Subscription Service

New York -- Video game publisher Atari announced on Tuesday the launch of Atari on Demand, a new subscription-based service that will stream its back-catalog game titles to users' PCs. The $14.95 monthly service, powered by technology from Massachusetts-based Exent, will allow Windows users from anywhere in the world to subscribe to the service, which in addition to games will also offer productivity and kids' software.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040406/65479_1.html 
http://www.atariondemand.com 
http://www.exent.com

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(Hsin-Chu, Taiwan) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) announced on Tuesday that it has reached an agreement with Microsoft to provide semiconductor manufacturing services for Microsoft's future Xbox video game console products. The agreement expands upon an existing relationship, where TSMC was outsourced by graphics chipmaker ATI Technologies to manufacture the graphics chips for the next Xbox. However, it is still believed that Microsoft will use and IBM processor as the core for its next Xbox.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040406/65237_1.html 
http://www.tsmc.com

(San Francisco) The websites offering the file-sharing programs Kazaa and eDonkey are scheduled to experience distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on Wednesday, originating from a variant of the Netsky computer worm designed to attack the sites, CNET News.com reported. File-sharing on the two networks will not be affected, as the worms are designed to attack only the websites where the P2P software may be downloaded. "NetSky is widespread, so I wouldn't be surprised if the sites collapse under the load," Mikko Hypponen, director of antivirus research at F-Secure, told News.com.
http://news.com.com/2100-7349_3-5185783.html

(Washington) The University of Illinois at Springfield has launched a ten-year plan to "mirror" all 39 degrees and corresponding courses it offers on the Internet, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. Utilizing a $1.21 million grant from the Alfred P. Sloan and at least $400,000 of its own funds, the school plans in the fall to offer eight degrees comprising 175 online courses in the first phase of the project.
http://chronicle.com/free/2004/04/2004040503n.htm

(Pasadena, Calif.) Overture Services, a unit of Yahoo that sells sponsored search engine listings, announced that it has forged new partnerships with media sites CNN.com, ESPN.com and The Wall Street Journal Online. Overture will replace rival Google in powering the search technology on CNN.com, while it will add contextual search listings on ESPN.com and sponsored search listings for WSJ.com.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040405/55272_1.html 
http://www.overture.com

(San Francisco) The Art Institute of California - San Francisco announced on Tuesday that it is offering high school seniors the opportunity to apply for scholarships for its video game degrees. The school will offer nine full-tuition scholarships of up to $70,000 each and several partial scholarships toward its bachelor degree programs in Game Art & Design and Visual & Game Programming.
http://www.aicasf.aii.edu

(Maynard, Mass.) SeaChange International, a provider of video-on-demand delivery equipment, on Tuesday launched its new Ad Placement System for its on-demand systems. Massachusetts-based SeaChange said the technology allows cable TV operators to automatically change spots and promos to conform to changing dayparts and viewer demographics.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040406/65592_1.html 
http://www.schange.com

(Seattle) Loudeye, a provider of streaming digital music song samples and other digital media services, announced that Synergy Media Group has licensed Loudeye's samples of 3.2 million songs for use with its TouchStand Media Kiosks. The Web-enabled, in-store kiosks for music retailers can offer digital music content, retailer-defined top seller lists, in-depth content searches, consumer data mining and other functions.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040405/sfm063_1.html 
http://www.loudeye.com 
http://www.synergymediagroup.net

(Calabasas Hills, Calif.) Video game publisher THQ announced on Tuesday the slate of games it will release in 2004 as part of its exclusive licensing agreement with children's TV network Nickelodeon. Heavy Iron Studios is currently developing a game for multiple platforms based on the upcoming "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" for release in the fall. New games based on "The Fairly OddParents" and "The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius" will also ship in the fall. THQ is also developing a Game Boy Advance title based on "Nicktoons," a series featuring characters from multiple Nickelodeon programs interacting together.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040406/65363_1.html 
http://www.nick.com 
http://www.thq.com

(San Francisco) Game developer Ubisoft has announced that its Montreal studio is currently at work on development for "Myst IV Revelation," the latest installment in the popular game franchise. Musician Peter Gabriel will contribute music to the soundtrack for the game, which is slated for release in the fall of 2004. Ubisoft recently shut down the online component of its last installment of the "Myst" franchise, "Uru Live," citing a lack of enough paying subscribers to keep the online game afloat.
http://www.ubi.com/US/News/News_2004-04-05_mystrevelation.htm

(Santa Monica, Calif.) Video game publisher Conspiracy Entertainment on Tuesday released its "Road Trip: Shifting Gears" title for Nintendo Game Boy Advance. Japanese developer Takara created the game, which allows up to four players to connect for multiplayer racing, and can also connect to the version of the game for Nintendo GameCube.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040406/65319_1.html 
http://www.conspiracygames.com 
http://www.takaratoys.co.jp/ir2/eng/index.html

(Santa Monica, Calif.) Movielink, the Internet video-on-demand joint venture between a number of Hollywood movie studios, said on Tuesday that it has added episodes of the classic cartoon series "Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends" to its offering through an agreement with Classic Media.
http://www.classicmedia.tv 
http://www.movielink.com

(London) NewScientist.com recently reported on the impressive feat accomplished by a Sony QRIO robot, when it conducted the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of Beethoven's 5th symphony.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994845 
rtsp://cds101.bit-drive.ne.jp/shp/02-38-QR105.rm
http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2003/1218/sony_06.wmv

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